check out this great post from rob read (hpc’s danville campus pastor) about his thoughts on the tragedies in myanmar and china. goes right down the same vein that God’s been dealing with me about. what would i do if i were one of “them”?

read his post here: why we need a Savior

i want to encourage everyone to pray - and those of you who are pastors and leaders - lead your group to begin praying for God to show Himself strong to those affected and to open doors for His people to deliver hope in Jesus’ name. i know that at hpc this weekend we are going to make a point to pray for this need that is so overwhelming. God can do amazing things when we turn to Him in prayer.

just got this note from ben rodgers (campus pastor at hpc_swaziland where one of our hpsm teams are right now):

Just to let you know that our outreaches went well today. We cooked for about 200 businesses around our complex and in the town of Mbabane today. People were really shocked that we weren’t selling the food. They had never heard of a church giving something away without strings attached.

We did a big outreach in the park as well that was reaching out to teenagers. We had a basketball game: Me, Neil, Barton, a young girl, and a swazi guy against one of their pretty good teams. WE WON.. (I won’t be able to move tomorrow but hey) Then we got to invite all the people to church. It was pretty awesome.

We are set to have our kids connecting with kids giving away candy and balloons. We want people to know how important kids are to us. Then we are going to be paying for parking for people that are doing their shopping tomorrow.

Should be good stuff.

ben

yay God!

we’re working on a plan here at hpc to connect with other churches in arc and with joyce meyer ministries and some other great ministries that are able to get aid to the affected areas of china and myanmar.

there’s so much hurt, so much pain, such a horrifying tragedy for so many people - going on right now as i type this. don’t even let that thought that “well that’s over there” even begin to erode your passion to be part of God’s plan to answer these needs. these are precious people. hundreds of thousands of them. and each individual is precious to him enough that he sent Jesus to die for them just like he did for you and me.

stay tuned here and at dinorizzo.com for updates on how you can engage the need. for now, pray, pray, pray. the prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. prayer will make a difference. pray that Godly men and women will be able to get to the people who need help the most.

just got a call from neil (team leader for the hpsm team in swaziland) and he said he’s trying to get me some pics sent over from their first big ol’ outreach they did there in gearing up for the soft launch of hpc_swaziland. i’ll tell you this much though - the team is all well and working like crazy. they did a big cooking for Christ -style dinner for people in the business district and they did another outreach in a city park - all went really really well, just serving and loving people like they’ve been doing here - the same heart gushing to people on the other side of the globe that Jesus loves more than we can even imagine.

just got word from neil jackson - the hpsm africa teams are on the ground in johannesburg - they all survived the loooong flight there. next a little puddle-jumper to matsapha airport in swaziland. keep praying for them.

also got word from kim braud and stephanie durbin that the hpsm india team made it to houston - still got their loooong flight in front of them. definitely keep them in your prayers.

ok, so construction of a building isn’t all there is to building the Kingdom, but it sure helps sometimes to have space to do stuff in. it’s about people - and soon there’ll be a little more space at hpc_st.amant for more people stuff. wooohooo!

jason laird sent me this pic from the new orleans airport this morning

the healing place school of ministry africa team is off. half of the group in this picture is headed for a tour of duty in mozambique and the other half in swaziland. the swazi team is going to help launch the new hpc_swaziland with campus pastor ben rodgers, and the moz team is going to help celebrate the one-year anniversary of hpc_mozambique with campus pastor isaac williams.

of course there’ll be a ton of other stuff they’ll be doing while they’re there - like working with the kids at the children’s cup carepoints and encouraging the missionaries there.

pray for safe travel the rest of the way. i just got a text from brandon bourgeois that they made it to atlanta safely and are awaiting the loooong flight to johannesburg from there.

keep them in your prayers for the next couple weeks.

i just got this note from a friend of ours working in china:

At 2:30am Monday morning there was an earthquake 60 miles outside of Chengdu…. It measured a 7.8 on the Richter Scale and was felt as far away as Beijing….

We just spoke on the phone with several of our leaders on the ground in Chengdu, and everyone is safe, accounted for, and in good spirits. [Among our team] no one was injured and no buildings fell near our people….

Pray… for the people of China closer to the epicenter of the earthquake. Reports of the destruction are severe, and the death-count is rising rapidly. There may still be living children trapped inside partially collapsed school facilities. Pray against aftershocks, for the rescue teams, and that the Lord would use this as an open door.

All for Jesus.

please pray for the people affected by this earthquake and also keep praying for the people of myanmar, as well as those whose lives were tragically affected by the tornadoes last night here in the usa. pray that all of it translates into openings in peoples’ hearts for the grace and love of Christ to be shown.

check out the q&a with hpc’s lead pastor dino rizzo over on swerve.lifechurch.tv (craig groeschel and bobby gruenewald’s blog) about the upcoming one prayer deal. very cool concept. very cool interview. very cool blog. very cool bloggers. very cool pastors.

good stuff. think about it. so far nearly a half-million people attend the churches that are participating in the one prayer series. i like how the sidebar on swerve puts it: “the Church stands together like never before.”

we’re so due for this. i can’t wait to see what the effects of this are a year from now when we look back. to me it isn’t just a month of united Church stuff. it is the potential of intertwining our various sub-DNA’s we have as various “little c” churches, while celebrating and recognizing the shared DNA we have as the “big C” Church.

that’s got to be a good thing.

marc cleary just sent me this - something he got from our friend kirk nowery at samaritan’s purse about how we can help the horrible situation in myanmar after the cyclone that hit last weekend. check it out and then see what God wants you to do about it.

SITUATION REPORT
Cyclone Nargis – 9 May 2008

BACKGROUND
As reports indicate that the number of dead has likely risen to 100,000 or more, and as aid workers continue to seek access to the country, the situation on the ground is growing more desperate.

HOW SAMARITAN’S PURSE IS RESPONDING
The Incident Management Team is currently coordinating with Affiliate Offices in Canada, the UK, and Australia as well as field offices in the area to determine the most effective response. In addition, we are in contact with U.S. and foreign government agencies to seek access to the area. Our preparations currently include:

► We have a tentative agreement with the government of Myanmar to airlift a 747 cargo plane loaded with 12 WMI water filter systems and 4,000 rolls of heavy-duty plastic from Charlotte to Yangon.

► PuR sachets and kits are expected to arrive in Bangkok from Dubai today. We will try to forward these into Yangon as soon as possible.

► One staff member from Canada will be travelling into Myanmar Saturday morning.

► The Canadian office has had a water-purification team on the ground in Yangon. They confirmed that clean water is a top priority. Salt water pushed inland by the cyclone flooded local wells. Wells need to be pumped out and allowed to refill with fresh water.

► We have been told there is a need for chainsaws to clear fallen trees, generators, and pumps to help remove salt water from wells. The WMI filter systems have generators and are capable of pumping contaminated water from wells.

► The Water Missions International filter systems from S.C. and the heavy-duty plastic from our warehouse in N. Wilkesboro will be sent to Charlotte as soon as the airlift is confirmed.

► There are audio reports posted on the Samaritan’s Purse Web site.

► A media release was distributed Tuesday.

► SP staff from six countries have been mobilized and are en route to Bangkok and Myanmar. The team will include our Livestock and Agriculture Advisor and our Food Advisor.

WAYS YOU CAN HELP
Pray:
·For the victims of this disaster.
·For favor with the government so that we will be allowed access into the country.
·For wisdom as the Incident Management Team determines the best way to help the people of Myanmar.

Donations: Go to www.samaritanspurse.org or call 1-828-262-1980.